 "Is protein actually good for our health? – Firstpost")
Andoni Iraola insisted record-breaking Bournemouth “cannot be happy with this point” after their European football ambitions were dented by a goalless draw at 10-man Crystal Palace.
The hosts clung on after Chris Richards was controversially sent off with a second yellow card in first-half stoppage time of a contest which never found a flow, and saw referee Sam Barrott dole out nine cautions.
The Cherries brought up a new club-high Premier League points tally of 49, but the boss was not in a celebratory mood.
“It’s a point where probably, before the game, is not a bad result coming to a stadium this difficult,” he said.
“But considering how this game has gone, we cannot be happy with this point. No, I think we missed a big opportunity and now it’s difficult to value the point.
“Now the margins are very, very small. I feel we have not used this extra player in a proper way.”
American defender Richards was dismissed after bringing down Justin Kluivert, 10 minutes after Alex Scott – who had also already been booked – might have gotten away with a warning following a similar challenge on Ismaila Sarr.
Palace did not have a shot on target for the entire encounter, while Iraola felt his side were frustrated both by the Eagles’ defence and their own lack of clinical edge after the break.
The clean sheet was a more positive result for the hosts, who last Saturday lost 5-2 at Manchester City then suffered a 5-0 midweek defeat to Newcastle.
Oliver Glasner’s men next travel to Arsenal for Wednesday’s rescheduled Premier League fixture before taking on Aston Villa in Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
The Palace boss said: “When you enter a game with 10 goals on your shoulder conceded in the last two games, it’s not too easy.
“We could see it in the first half, we were not full of confidence, but we were defending OK and getting this red card, you could collapse as a team.”
Instead, the Austrian felt Richards’ dismissal might have even galvanised his side.
“You could collapse, but this group didn’t collapse,” Glasner added. “They grew with the things they had to do. The confidence came back and this is what we need now.
“We have to turn around and we have to use this positivity for the Arsenal game, and three days later at Wembley against Villa.
“Maybe this red card helped us to get our confidence back and we need it. We definitely need it at the Emirates and Wembley against two Champions League teams, who showed great performances last week.”
